The striped awnings at the storefront windows of the Van Burens' Bolton Hill residence speak to a time in the late 1800s when every four blocks or so had a commercial corner in an elegant neighborhood of Victorian townhouses.
"This was probably never a one-family home," said Susan Van Buren, indicating an old photo on the office wall just inside the entrance showing a merchant behind the counter of his general store.
"And there was a butcher across the street," she continued. "A 90-year-old neighbor said they used to raise squabs over our carriage house!"
Susan and Peter Van Buren purchased the home in 1988 for their move from Hartford, Conn. At the time, its $365,000 price was the most expensive property in the neighborhood. For that amount, they got a three-story corner home with a five-bay carriage house in the rear.
"For as long as we've lived here, someone else has always rented the first [floor]," Susan Van Buren continued.
Four years ago, the couple moved their own business, TerraLogos Energy Group, into the first floor of the building they have owned and lived in for 22 years. Today, the Van Burens live on the home's second floor, rent out the third and keep the renovated carriage house for visiting family members.
Initially, the couple allowed themselves $40,000 for renovation to a house that was in fairly good condition from the former owner. They completely remodeled the second-floor kitchen, bathroom and laundry room.
"Our favorite part of the house has always been the [second floor] kitchen," Van Buren said. "It's really a very simple galley kitchen with just the addition of a second sink, which easily turns it into a 2-cook kitchen, so cooking [and] clean up duties can easily be shared."
An elevated half-wall offers additional counter space while masking the mess from those sitting at the table on the other side of the completely open living space. Columns on the raised counter add a touch of butler-pantry elegance to the galley kitchen's design.
Classic yellow paint on the top portion of the living area's walls complements the white paneling and chair rails on the lower walls. Stock lumber was used for the paneling, which was placed by the home's former owner. Dark woods in the large living area include a stunning mahogany secretary and a carved, three-paneled screen from India. Upholstery on tuxedo-style, traditional pieces are of white duck cloth. Chagall-like prints hang on the walls along with oil-pastel landscapes created by local artist Leslie Schwing.
The couple's two spaniel-mix rescue dogs, Happy and Gracie, play on the floors' wool carpets and follow their owner to the rear of the home, where a library, small solarium, renovated bathroom and bedroom make up the second level.
After the initial output of $40,000 for renovations, the couple spent $26,000 on an energy efficient mini-split heat pump system.
"That's a lot of money, but it [gives] us so much more control over our energy use throughout the house," Van Buren said.
A multi-level cat walk connects the main house to the carriage house, a space the couple renovated at an additional expense of $90,000. Twenty feet by fifty feet in dimension, the cozy, cottage-like house boasts an open living and dining room, a fully equipped kitchen, full bathroom and two bedrooms.
"As empty nesters sandwiched between four generations of family, we live comfortably and elegantly in just enough space for the two of us," Van Buren said. "But when our daughters and their energetic families visit, they can stay for days in the carriage house, frequently entertaining their own friends while sharing cooking chores and eating between the two kitchens and courtyard" below.
The Van Burens have been pleased with their projects and say they are lucky that things have worked out so well.
"Even if we leave for our dream house in Italy, we can always keep one apartment as our Baltimore pied a terre," Van Buren said. "As a neighbor once said, 'Bolton Hill is a great place to come back to.' "
Making a dream home
Dream element: The Van Burens' three-story, Victorian townhouse is on a quiet corner property in Bolton Hill and shaded by old horse chestnut and magnolia trees. "We told the Realtor we needed a three-story [home in the city] with trees [and] we've never wanted to be in any other neighborhood," Susan Van Buren said of the property they purchased 22 years ago. A wooden, exterior cat walk she designed connects the second floor in the main house to a five-bay carriage house, restored and used by visiting family members.
Design inspiration: "There's a lot of pressure in Bolton Hill to go the antique route," said Susan Van Buren, whose choice of Danish Modern furniture presents a no-nonsense, professional look in the first floor offices of the couple's business, TerraLogos Energy Group. A reception area and individual work stations are found here just inside the front entrance. Further back in the 22-foot wide home is a copy room and kitchenette and beyond that, the board room, with a long, sleek table and chairs of rosewood with burlwood and walnut inlay. The second-floor living quarters is traditional in decor with what Susan Van Buren calls "brown woods" situated in rooms that bear a prior renovation to Federal Period-style, exemplified in paneling, chair rails and wainscoting all done in the 1960s.
Renovation lessons learned: In addition to wishing she had known about radiant floor heat when she and her husband were renovating the bathroom, Susan Van Buren, a former landscape architect, addresses the home's exterior saying, "I wish I had been smart enough to build the catwalk 10 years earlier than we did so that we could have been using the courtyard, even though the carriage house apartment was rented out to someone else."